ACADIA’S MIKE CAZZOLA was the overtime hero for the second straight playoff game but there was no time to celebrate.

The freshman forward scored 5:19 into the extra period to lift the Axemen to a 3-2 victory over the Saint Mary’s Huskies in the opener of their best-of-five Atlantic university hockey semifinal Wednesday night at the Halifax Forum.

But as the Axemen rushed to mob the diminutive Cazzola, he skated off the ice and hurried to the dressing room. And like a pied piper, he was quickly followed by his teammates.

“It was get off the ice, pack the bus, let’s get some sleep and be ready for tomorrow night,” Cazzola said immediately after the game.

The teams return to the Forum tonight for Game 2.

“It’s a quick turn around so we have to put this one behind us and get ready for SMU again,” Cazolla added. “We got the win, that’s great but there’s still a lot of work left to do.”

Some yeoman’s work by Acadia captain Andrew Clark and linemate Brett Thompson behind the Huskies goal freed the puck for Thompson. The rookie wheeled into the slot, bringing two defenders toward him. Thompson then fed Cazolla alone in front and he beat SMU goalie Anthony Peters to the stick side.

“Thompson made a great play to walk around the defence,” Cazolla recalled. “The D were left to either stay with me or go take Thompson, they went to him and he got the pass across. I was just fortunate enough to put it under Peters’ arm.”

With 29 points in 28 games, the five-foot-seven Cazolla has had an impressive first season at Acadia. But in two games this week, he has really come up big.

He tallied in double OT on Sunday as the Axemen eliminated the Moncton Aigles Bleus in the third and deciding game of their quarter-final in Wolfville.

“I haven’t had an overtime winner in three or four years. I got one the other night to win the series and I guess my luck is still hanging on,” Cazzola quipped.

“We’re just happy to get (the win). They played us hard in our building and, for the most part, they out-chanced us. But at the end of the day, we walk away with (the win).”

Thompson and Spencer Jezegou had first-period goals for the Axemen, who were outshot 41-24. Evan Mosher, in his third straight playoff start, was stellar in the Acadia goal, including 15 saves in the third period.

As the game wore on, much of the play seemed tilted in the Axemen end. But Cazzola said his team wasn’t feeling fatigued even after a gruelling quarter-final and the Huskies fresh from having a first-round bye.

“Surprisingly, we weren’t too bad,” Cazzola said. “I think not having the bye, we got our legs a little wet. Obviously in overtime you’re definitely tired. But we just kept plugging away.”

Matt Tipoff scored in the opening frame for SMU and Chris MacKinnon tied it at 2-all when he beat Mosher inside the far post off a shot from inside the left face-off circle nine minutes into the third period.

Tipoff said in a short series like this, there’s no time to let the loss linger, especially when they return to the ice in less than 24 hours.

“That’s the beauty of a series like this, we get right back at it tomorrow night,” the Huskies sophomore forward said. “We can’t dwell on things. We have to take the positives out of a game like this.

“Maybe we can tighten up a little bit in the defensive zone. We know they have some skill guys over there. Other than that, I thought we brought it to them and we had tons of shots.

“I guess tonight just wasn’t our night.”

The other AUHC semifinal featuring the CIS No. 1 UNB Varsity Reds and the UPEI Panthers opens tonight in Fredericton.